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Custom Traps/Weapons
About Traps and Homemade Weapons Sometimes an off-the-rack weapon, or one improvised on the spur of the moment, just isn’t going to cut it. Some characters, especially Geniuses, Charmers, and their scourge counterparts, take pride not only in the artistry of the kill, but in the artistry of the weapons they use. Whether it’s an insidious trap that shoots out a scything blade at gut-level when the jukebox finishes playing Hey Jude, or a pair of metal gloves with razor-sharp fingernails and poison reservoirs in the wrist, sometimes the thing that elevates a criminal from horrifying to a truly memorable foe is a unique, signature weapon. The following section presents a point-based system for designing your own weapons and traps. Add up all of the modifiers for the cost of each Trait your weapon or trap possesses, and the result is the Resources cost to purchase that weapon. For traps, rather than Resources, the cost represents the number of dots that must be spent on Safe-house Traps to add that particular trap to a character's Safe-house. As per normal combat rules, weapons that augment natural attacks use + Brawl, melee weapons use + Weaponry, thrown weapons + Athletics, and any sort of launched or fired weapon uses + Firearms. = Standard Components = Accuracy (• to •••••) This property applies only to traps. When making an attack roll for the trap, the dice pool for the attack is equal to Accuracy + Damage. Damage (• to •••••) Each point of damage bonus a weapon possesses adds one dot to its cost. By default, weapons inflict lethal damage. A homemade weapon or trap cannot be made to inflict aggravated damage. The exception, of course, is if a creature suffers aggravated damage from the nature of the attack itself. A homemade flame-thrower still inflicts aggravated damage to a vampire, for example. You may assess a damage penalty or up to -3 and reduce the final cost by a corresponding amount. = Bonus Components = 8-Again (••••) More so than 9-again, 8-again represents a weapon that causes truly horrendous injury to anyone unfortunate enough to be struck with it. Many 8-again weapons have a low damage bonus, reflecting a weapon that is inaccurate or difficult to use but brutally effective when it lands. 9-Again (••) Giving a weapon the 9-again quality means that the attacks it lands are especially devastating. Appropriate weapons might include serrated blades, powered components, or large, heavy smashing heads. Area Effect (• to •••) This property, usually applied to explosives or toxic gas or the like, allows the weapon or trap to affect multiple targets at once. For every dot assigned to this property, the attack has a blast radius of one yard. Rather than make an attack roll to inflict damage, the attack automatically inflicts damage equal to its damage rating. The attacker’s player then rolls a number of dice equal to the damage rating, adding any successes to the damage inflicted on anyone within the blast radius. Traps generally require no attack roll for an area effect, but a thrown or fired weapon might require an attack roll to place the blast radius where the attacker wants it. Armor Piercing (• to •••) The weapon or trap has one point of Armor Piercing per dot spent on this property. Bashing Damage (Subtract ••) The weapon or trap inflicts bashing damage rather than lethal. Bypass (•) This property is for traps only. A bypass creates a means by which the triggering action of the trap can be performed without setting off the trap. A car explodes when the ignition is turned, unless you pop the cigarette lighter out first. It’s safe to walk up the stairs on the left, but not on the right. This property is typically added to traps used to hinder intruders coming into a Safe-house; the hunters know how to avoid their own traps, and can lead the intruders right into them. Complexity ''(• to •••)'' This property is for traps only. For every dot assigned to this property, any attempt to disable the trap suffers a -1 penalty. Concealable (• to •••) For a weapon, this property incurs a -1 penalty per dot on any roll made to notice that the character is carrying a weapon (possibly because the weapon looks innocuous until used, possibly because the weapon is designed to be hidden). For an additional •, the penalty applies to bodily searches as well. For traps, this property incurs a -1 penalty per dot on any attempt to notice the trap or to actively search for it. Continuous Damage (• to •••) The weapon or trap inflicts one point of continuous damage per turn per dot spent on this property. This might reflect some caustic substance like acid or lye, or a fire attack that sets the target ablaze, or even an attack that causes severe bleeding. The continuous damage lasts for two turns or until the victim makes an appropriate roll to stop it + Medicine to stop bleeding, + Athletics to stop, drop and roll to put out a fire, etc.). Inaccurate (Subtract • to •••) The weapon or trap is particularly difficult to aim, or is prone to a wide margin of error. Any attack roll made with the weapon or trap suffers a -1 penalty per dot assigned to this property. Knockout (••) The weapon or trap has the Knockout special ability. Traps with this property are typically some sort of dead-fall or drop trap, to account for the height difference in potential targets. Knockdown (•) The weapon or trap has the Knockdown property. No Damage (Subtract •••) The weapon or trap inflicts no damage on a successful attack, regardless of how many successes are rolled. This property is usually assigned to a weapon or trap primarily designed to inflict a secondary effect. A poison needle doesn’t inflict any damage from the jab, the poison itself does the work. Poison (•• to ••••) Whether by a natural toxin or a man-made chemical, the weapon or trap with this property poisons the target on a successful attack. The poison is considered to be Injection-based, and inflicts damage equal to its Toxicity immediately upon taking effect and once an hour thereafter for two hours. For two dots, the poison’s Toxicity is 1, for four dots, the Toxicity is 2. Portability (••) This property is for traps only. By default, a trap is assumed to be built into a structure and fixed in place. By adding this property, the trap is portable and can be set up anywhere with one minute of prep time. Remember to keep the trap’s Size in mind; it might be “portable,” but a large trap might have to be moved around on a vehicle. Size (Subtract • to •••••+) By default, a homemade weapon begins with a Size of 1. Each dot by which you increase the Size of the weapon reduces the cost by 1 dot. Remember that, for melee weapons, the Size of the weapon is also the minimum Strength score the wielder must have to use the weapon without suffering a -1 penalty. Traps don’t have Strength requirements, but every two points of Size grant a +1 bonus on any roll to notice or locate the trap. Strength Requirements (Subtract • to •••) This property applies to ranged weapons only. By default, a ranged weapon has a minimum Strength requirement of 2. By increasing this requirement, you may subtract one point from the final cost per additional point of Strength required. Trigger (• to •••) This property applies to traps only. With no dots in this property, a trap is assumed to be triggered by a direct, simple mechanical mechanism, such as breaking a tripwire or stepping on a weak floor. This property allows for traps with more intricate triggers, as described below. * • Complex mechanical trigger: opening a door springs a poison needle trap, stepping on a pressure plate triggers spikes to shoot out of the walls. * •• Simple electronic trigger: entering the wrong code on a keypad triggers a scything blade at head height, flicking a light switch causes the floor to drop out, turning the ignition of a car triggers the explosives under the seat. * ••• Complex electronic trigger: entering a specific sequence of keys on a keyboard detonates the computer, poison gas floods the room if a thermometer reads higher than 74 degrees Fahrenheit. Two-Handed (Subtract •) This property cannot be applied to traps. The weapon requires two hands to wield effectively. If a character wishes to wield the weapon one-handed, he must have a Strength one dot higher than the minimum Strength requirement for the weapon. = Constructing a Homemade Weapon or Trap = * Dice Pool: Intelligence + Crafts Action: Extended (three successes required per dot of cost; each roll represents one hour of work) Rather than purchasing a unique weapon or trap with Merit dots (Resources for weapons, Safe-house for traps), it is possible for a character to create such implements of destruction himself. To construct a homemade weapon or trap from scratch, first settle on the properties the weapon will possess. Once you have selected the properties and determined the base dot cost, the construction can begin. Depending upon the precise nature of the construction, the character may suffer penalties if he cannot access the proper tools or equipment. For example, bolting the blade of a large kitchen knife to the back of a leather glove might require tools no more complex than those found in a typical garage or workshop. Hand-crafting the blade from scratch requires significantly more tools, including a forge, water or oil to quench the blade, and a full suite of blacksmithing or machining tools. Roll Results * Dramatic Failure: The character makes a horrible mistake in the construction process and must begin again from scratch. Depending on the nature of the components (for example, if he is working with volatile chemicals or explosives) he may suffer damage equal to half the damage bonus of the weapon or trap he constructs. * Failure: The character makes no progress in creating the item in question. * Success: The character makes progress in crafting the weapon or trap (apply successes rolled toward the total needed). * Exceptional Success: The character makes substantial progress in crafting the weapon or trap — a sudden burst of inspiration or a breakthrough in fabrication speeds up the process dramatically (apply successes rolled toward the total needed). * Suggested Equipment: High-grade tool set (+1), high-quality materials (+1), high-tech tools (laser leveler, saws with laser guides) (+2), specialized tools (+2), extensive reference library (+2), garage (+3), carpentry shop (+3) * Possible Penalties: Poor-quality tool set (-1), poor quality materials (-1), lack of reference library (-1), improvised work area (-1).